Garage daze [s]

My front and rear strut braces came in. The front is some variation on the 3sx brace. The rear is a Cusco. It was cool to see the 'GTO' labeling on the paperwork, though I couldn't read the strangely extensive install instructions.



Luckily the Cusco bolted right on so I was spared having to learn Japanese. The front brace took an unfortunate amount of extra work. The bolt holes were a few millimeters too narrow and had to be filed out. And my battery tie-down required some modification to jive with the new suspension component.



The rear brace didn't too much in the Celica, other than look cool. But there are a few differences here, namely the vr4 rear wheels drive, bear weight, and steer. Oh well, I don't have enough experience with her to really feel if there's a difference anyway.



Next on the agenda is finishing the fiber replacement panels. The m.o. here is not mangling any stock components, so I'm making new pieces to replace those that the rear brace is obstructing. Also replacing the stock stereo with my good ol' Alpine 9833 has left a sizable gap in the dash that will be paneled over.

Drivetrain III [i]

Rotors are here, the Cel can finally go back together. Side by side...


Old: Raybestos STS rotors.
New: Nopi silver cadmium-plated rotors.


Old: Raybestos STS pads.
New: Brembos.


Old: Modern Sniper 15's.
New: Motegi DV5 17's.


Old: Toyo touring tires.
New: Kumho Ecstas.

240,000 miles later [s]

Looks like I'm not spending my tax return on you after all. Investigating a slow leak in my diminished tires led me to serendipitously discover one of my cv boots had finally split. I guess it had to happen, and I might as well take care of a few other things while I'm down there.

I can finally get some awesome tires to match the suspension. New wheel bearings might be a worthwhile investment. Re-re-re-replace the rotors and never utter the name Raybestos again. Maybe some steel brake lines. Suspension techniques sway bars? Chrome-plated exhaust manifold heat shield? We shall see, there's a spreadsheet in the works - so you know I mean business.


What the wheel doesn't want you to see.


Split cv boot, side.


Can you see the joint?